Simulanti alla fine del Cinquecento. Giovanni Battista Selvatico e il De iis qui morbum simulant deprehendendis

Galen’s Quomodo morbum simulantes sint deprehendendi inspired several treatises about illness deception from the late sixteenth century onwards. The first of these treatises, entitled De iis qui morbum simulant depre- hendendis, was published by Giovanni Battista Selvatico in 1595. This article presents Selvatico’s work in relation to both the author’s oeuvre and the medical culture of his time. It also highlights two specific issues addressed by the treatise, that is, dis/ simulations performed by female subjects and dis/simulations having dangerous and potentially deadly effects, such as syphilis and poisoning.